Lonely
by CanaanAlshea
Summary: Kurama Has Some Doubts About His Place. Yusuke Helps Him Out.


_Title: Lonely_  
 _Author: CanaanAlshea_  
 _Summary: Kurama Has Some Doubts About His Place. Yusuke Helps Him Out._

Yusuke thought it was strange to see Kurama at such a late hour, wandering through the park. Not that he knew the fox very well; everything he did seemed strange to him but he always had his reasons in the end. And Kurama was nothing if not logical...

"Yo foxboy," he said, loudly enough to make his presense known. Kurama hadn't seemed to notice him before. But who knows; maybe he was just ignoring him. Not at all like him.

"Good evening," the kitsune nodded his head in greeting, before tipping his head back to look at the rising crescent of the moon, "Isn't it a bit late for you to be walking about by yourself, Yusuke?"

"Could say the same for you," he sighed, plopping onto the park bench, "At least I know my mom wouldn't be worried sick at me being out at," he checked his watch, "2:23 in the morning."

Kurama smiled gently, "Mother is very accustomed to my late night wanderings. I think she finally stopped being afraid for my safety about a year ago."

"Aww," Yusuke gushed, grinning, "That's so sweet. She's just worried about her baby."

A snort, a shake of the head. The kitsune knelt, caressing the leaves of a wilting vine, gently willing them to grow beneath his touch. Much better. A cold breeze pushed his hair over his face, strands catching his lashes. It would be winter soon. The plants would be dead...

"You feeling okay?"

Startled, Kurama looked over his shoulder; it was unlike his captain to use such a serious tone, "Fine...why do you ask?"

"You just seem depressed," he shrugged, brows knitted, warm brown eyes searching the pale face for answers, "You've been distant ever since we got home from that stupid tournament...thought you'd be happier, you know?"

"I should be," Kurama murmered, long fingers plucking dead leaves, eyes focused on anything but the teenager next to him.

"...We haven't seen you around so much...you do know none of us mind you visiting the temple, right? Hell, I've seen more of Hiei," he dragged the grumpy demons name out for emphasis, "Than I have you in...what...a month?"

Had it been that long? The days seemed to drag together... Mentally he did the math and found Yusuke to be correct. It had been a month and a half since their return to the city and he'd done nothing but attend school and wander aimlessly.

"I think I'm looking for something," he sighed, standing and brushing soil from his fingertips, "I feel...restless, I suppose. Out of place in my own skin."

"And...?" Yusuke prompted gently, peeling the paint from the bench that was desperately in need of a touch-up.

"Why the sudden interest," Kurama sent a soft smile over his shoulder, green eyes dark, hiding the aged soul behind them, "Have I done something to warrent an investigation from my parole officer?"

Yusuke snorted, "Jeez, I hate when you call me that. And stop trying to abuse my short attention span because that aint gonna work," he patted the bench next to him, "Now come on, tell your dear uncle Yusuke all about your troubles."

Shaking his head, Kurama obeyed, crossing his leg and resting his elbow on his knee, chin propped on curling palm, "Honestly, I'm older than you in both skins. You are nowhere near my 'uncle Yusuke' as you say."

"Still." Yusuke softened, resting his elbows along the back of the bench, eyes tracing the moving shadows, the quiet patches of moonlight, "I'm not lying...if something's bugging you..." he trailed off, shrugging, turning to make eye contact.

With a soft sigh, the kitsune shifted, leaning back to trace the stars with his eyes, "To be honest," he whispered, "I seem to find myself afflicted with the unfamiliar feeling of loneliness..."

He paused, taking the other boy's silence as permission to continue.

"My mother is in good health, taking more time to go out with friends, a few dates here and there," he shrugged, "I tell her I do the same and each time she leaves I sit there, unable to find anything to do that truely occupies my mind so...I just stare at the wall," he shook his head, smiling wryly, "It's ridiculous."

"Ah," Yusuke nodded, looking at his friend with sympathy, "You're depressed."

"Not so much."

"Why not hang out with Hiei," Yusuke smiled, "I'm sure he likes spending time with the only teammate who can understand that snarky-asshole-charm he has."

"I've been avoiding him," Kurama sighed, "Or perhaps he's avoiding me. I haven't quite figured it out yet. Either way..." he shrugged, "I have seen as much of Hiei as I have of you."

"This whole month then...you've just been..." Yusuke made a waving gesture to the side.

"Existing," Kurama finished for him, "And even that is taking a toll on me."

Yusuke bit his lip, trying to think of something to say.

"I'm old, Yusuke," Kurama whispered, eyes focused on something far outside of the detective's reach, "I am old...and I'm tired...sometimes I wonder if reincarnating here was a mistake. I'm so tired..." he trailed off, hiding behind the curtain of sanguine hair. He felt embarassed, having revealed so much in that sentence. He wasn't used to feeling so...raw in front of another person.

"Forgive me for my foolishness-"

"You're not foolish," Yusuke leaned over to look at those vivid eyes, "Don't even talk that way," he paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out. He was unused to comforting others; the kind of comfort he was used to giving at all was a punch in the arm, a comment about fighting and...somehow, he didn't think it would help his enigmatic friend.

"I didn't think I'd have to tell you this," Yusuke smiled, reaching over to push the thick locks of hair behind Kurma's ear, "But you know we're allowed to see eachother outside of missions right?"

Kurama wasn't looking at him; maybe he was refusing to.

"I mean, I know it's not really you're scene but...when you see me at the arcade you don't have to just nod at me through the window...you can come in and say hi, maybe kick Kuwabarra's ass at pinball," Kurama let out a breath through his nostrils, something almost a laugh, "And hell, if I knew you even wanted to hang out with us humans I would have mentioned it a long time ago!"

Kurama looked up, tipping his head, "You thought I disliked humans?"

"Well...no, I know you don't hate us," he shrugged, "Just figured you were alone so much because we're all practically babies to you. We're..." he paused to look for a word, something that wasn't implying he thought the fox was weird-

"Different," Kurama finished for him, "Believe me, after sixteen years in this world, I know that I am, indeed, strange to many humans. This is why I tend to avoid them. I unnerve people. Especially Kuwabarra. And Keiko."

"Pfft," Yusuke smiled, "Nothing unnerves Keiko. Hell she's threatened to kick Hiei's ass more than once. And yeah you make Kuwabarra a little nervous, but he's always like that around new people. He's shy. And neither one of us is ever going to admit I said that."

"Just because you're a demon," Yusuke said softly, expression serious and making sure the fox saw it, "Doesn't mean you're evil. We all know that. And just because you're weird doesn't mean we don't like you. We love weird!" he grinned, "Especially Keiko. You get her talking about books, you guys will be sitting there for a week, confusing me because you guys actually read for FUN," he mock shuddered, "And Kuwabarra loves animals. Just talk to him about cats and he'll never shut up."

Kurama laughed softly, "I wasn't aware of...any of that."

"Yeah well, that's because you never asked!" Yusuke grinned, "And I'm not even giving you a choice on this one; next time Keiko wants to go bookstore looking-don't ask me why!-I'm dragging your ass with us. And you two can do...whatever nerds do together and I'll read some comics or something."

"I'll try to remember that," the yoko gave a small smile that finally seemed genuine, "I appreciate it, mind you."

"You gotta talk more," Yusuke punched his shoulder playfully, "I could have been way more helpful a long time ago!"

He jumped up, stretching, "NOW, you're gonna come with me because I just got this new movie about a casino heist and something tells me that's right up your alley." Kurama stood gracefully, brushing his fingers against the flowers that touched him, seeming to thank him for his visit. "You're welcome," he murmered to them.

"Huh?" Yusuke cocked his head. Kurama tipped his head, gesturing to the vines that were slowly untangling from his wrist, "The Yukiokoshi," he smiled, "They were thanking me for their visit."

The detective just grinned, grabbing his free hand to tug him along, "I didn't know you could talk to plants! What?! That's awesome; tell me what else they say!"

And Kurama, for the first time in his human life, told another person about the language of the plants. And Yusuke actually found himself interested, asking questions.

Neither of them felt alone.

And that was enough for them both.

 _I rewrote the last line four or five times until I finally stuck with one. I still don't particularly feel it's powerful enough...but I like it. Please leave a review! ^-^_


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